prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic prə-ˈli-fik 
1
: producing young or fruit especially freely : fruitful
2
archaic : causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction
3
: marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity
a prolific composer
prolificacy
prə-ˈli-fi-kə-sē
noun prolifically
prə-ˈli-fi-k(ə-)lē
adverb prolificness
prə-ˈli-fik-nəs
noun 
Synonyms
- cornucopian
- fat
- fecund
- fertile
- fructuous
- fruitful
- lush
- luxuriant
- productive
- rich
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Since [David] Mamet is a prolific writer of Hollywood screenplays, there are today more people who know his work than know that they know it. 
Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000 The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach. Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993 A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding. Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991 Here there are La restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging. Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987 a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year
Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000 The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach. Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993 A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding. Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991 Here there are La restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging. Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987 a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year Recent Examples on the Web Once upon a time, Stephen King wrote a fairy tale, although the prolific author takes a third of this book, or around 200 pages, to make clear that the title of his latest opus is entirely, enjoyably unironic. Clark Collis, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2022 Fink is a prolific writer and has a weekly XR column in Forbes. Cathy Hackl, Forbes, 16 July 2022 Dugin, a prolific author on geopolitics and a harsh critic of the US and Europe, is an outspoken advocate of a policy of Eurasianism, viewing Russia as an empire whose Orthodox faith and values are in competition with the liberal West. Fortune, 21 Aug. 2022 But Tennessee’s offense continued to be prolific at times, while also taking advantage of some wild pitches and walks from Utah. Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Aug. 2022 Bandele, 54, was a prolific author, playwright and filmmaker whose work includes the adaptation of famed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton. Stephanie Busari, CNN, 9 Aug. 2022 Fields, also known as Bertram, was a prolific author, having written books about King Richard III and his depiction as the villainous English ruler and about whether Shakespeare authored the plays for which he is credited. Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2022 The prolific author has long been aligned with Simon & Schuster. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 2 Aug. 2022 While at the Lampoon and for decades after, Mr. Kelly was a prolific author. New York Times, 20 July 2022 See More
Clark Collis, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2022 Fink is a prolific writer and has a weekly XR column in Forbes. Cathy Hackl, Forbes, 16 July 2022 Dugin, a prolific author on geopolitics and a harsh critic of the US and Europe, is an outspoken advocate of a policy of Eurasianism, viewing Russia as an empire whose Orthodox faith and values are in competition with the liberal West. Fortune, 21 Aug. 2022 But Tennessee’s offense continued to be prolific at times, while also taking advantage of some wild pitches and walks from Utah. Alex Vejar, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Aug. 2022 Bandele, 54, was a prolific author, playwright and filmmaker whose work includes the adaptation of famed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton. Stephanie Busari, CNN, 9 Aug. 2022 Fields, also known as Bertram, was a prolific author, having written books about King Richard III and his depiction as the villainous English ruler and about whether Shakespeare authored the plays for which he is credited. Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2022 The prolific author has long been aligned with Simon & Schuster. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 2 Aug. 2022 While at the Lampoon and for decades after, Mr. Kelly was a prolific author. New York Times, 20 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French prolifique, from Middle French, from Latin proles + Middle French -figue -fic
First Known Use
1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic prə-ˈli-fik
1
: very inventive or productive
a prolific writer
2
: producing young or fruit in large numbers
a prolific fruit tree
prolific
adjective
as in fertile
producing abundantly a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- fertile
- rich
- productive
- fruitful
- creative
- fecund
- abundant
- inventive
- lush
- producing
- generous
- plentiful
- generative
- bountiful
- cornucopian
- luxuriant
- copious
- thriving
- fructuous
- yielding
- bearing
- liberal
- flourishing
- teeming
- fat
- original
- blooming
- abounding
- plenteous
- swarming
- bursting
- plenitudinous
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unproductive
- sterile
- barren
- dead
- infertile
- unfruitful
- sparse
- meager
- unfertile
- meagre
- scanty
- skimpy
- scant
- spare
- skimp
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of prolific are fecund, fertile, and fruitful. While all these words mean "producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit," prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.
a prolific writer
The meanings of fecund and prolific largely overlap; however, fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring.
a fecund herd
The words fertile and prolific are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development.
fertile soil
a fertile imagination
Fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results.
fruitful research